Fox's move exposes what both sides in this battle knew: the names of those involved were no big secret. Republicans on the Hill could likely have found them with a little work. And DOJ could have disclosed them, too.

"Politics has overtaken facts and reality," Justice spokesman Matt Miller said in a statement this afternoon. The lawyers involved "filed legal briefs that are available by using something as simple as Google. The names the Department is being asked to disclose are already in the public record, and can be easily found by anyone. We will not participate in an attempt to drag people’s names through the mud for political purposes," Miller said.

Keep America Safe executive director Aaron Harison welcomed the disclosure but said more information is needed. “Today, after much public outcry, the Department of Justice finally and reluctantly disclosed the names of the Al Qaeda Seven. We regret that they still refuse to tell the American people whether any of these lawyers are currently working on detainee issues inside the Department," Harison said.

While Miller is correct that the names of the lawyers have always been a matter of record in court briefs, it can take some effort to assemble an accurate list of all the political appointees in a given department.

UPDATE 2: This post has been updated to add Keep America Safe's statement.

Full statements from Miller and Harison after the jump.

Statement of Matthew Miller on Appointees of the Department of Justice
On February 18, the Department sent a letter to Senators about political appointees who were involved in detainee-related litigation before joining the Department. As the letter stated, Department attorneys are subject to ethics and disclosure rules as required under both Department guidelines and the administration’s own ethics rules, which are the strongest in history.
In the time since we sent that letter, politics has overtaken facts and reality. Each of the nine people referenced in the letter filed legal briefs that are available by using something as simple as Google. The names the Department is being asked to disclose are already in the public record, and can be easily found by anyone.
We will not participate in an attempt to drag people’s names through the mud for political purposes. One of the hallmarks of our nation’s legal system is that attorneys provide faithful representation to all sorts of clients. As John Roberts said at his confirmation hearings, it is wrong to identify lawyers with the client or the views the lawyer advances for the client, and our history is replete with such examples, from John Adams representing British soldiers to Department of Defense JAG lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees. Department of Justice attorneys work around the clock to keep this country safe, and it is offensive that their patriotism is being questioned, just as it was offensive when people questioned the patriotism of JAG lawyers representing detainees or the Supreme Court Justices who, by majority votes, ruled in favor of detainees in cases during the previous administration.

Statement of Aaron Harison
Executive Director
Keep America Safe

Today, after much public outcry, the Department of Justice finally and reluctantly disclosed the names of the Al Qaeda Seven. We regret that they still refuse to tell the American people whether any of these lawyers are currently working on detainee issues inside the Department. The American people have a right to know whether lawyers who voluntarily flocked to Guantanamo to take up the cause of the terrorists are currently working on detainee issues in President Obama's Justice Department. Attorney General Holder's assertion that hiring former terrorist lawyers is just like hiring lawyers who used to defend white collar criminals demonstrates once again that, despite the President's rhetoric, the Obama Administration does not understand the dangers of treating terrorism like a law enforcement matter.

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Harison is quoted by Charlie Savage as stating that these DOJ lawyers represented "terrorists, many of whom killed Americans”. It just goes to show what a liar Harison is. None of the prisoners the lawyers represented have been convicted of killing anybody, and only one (Omar Khadr) is even alleged to have killed any one (a single US soldier). Even that allegation is highly contentious. The McCarthyites will stoop to any lie in order to spread fear and loathing.

John Adams was defending British soldiers not terrorists. Saleh al Ajmi,
(whose suicide attack in Mosul was
noted in the Boumedienne dissent)
Al Mutayri who threw a grenade in the riot that claimed the life of Michael
Spann, Tarik Massoud, Saed Al Shihri, (the planner behind the Christmas bombing,) just a few innocents that have
been liberated over the years. And
they all rise to leadership when they
get out